


One Last Jump; One More Love

by homeisabluebox



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: And Rose makes her way to Thirteen, Dimension Cannon, Dimension-Hopping Rose, F/F, Fluff, Minor Character Death, Reunions, Tentoo dies, well really his death is just mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-25 07:00:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13828950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/homeisabluebox/pseuds/homeisabluebox
Summary: A series of thoughts passed through her mind in a second.  First, “I didn’t mean to do that.”  Then, “It shouldn’t matter anyway...” followed by unarticulated panic as the small yellow machine began to whir and it’s lights flashed.  And finally, a wish, the same wish she had had every time she had pressed the button before, “Please take me to the Doctor.”





	One Last Jump; One More Love

Rose stopped in her tracks when she saw the corner of the photo peeking out from the cardboard box.  She inhaled a lungful of dusty air and dropped to her knees on the attic floor as she tugged on the photo.  She held it in her hands and released a shaky breath, holding back the tears that threatened to spill down her face.

The picture was old.  It had been taken over 50 years ago, on the same day that Rose’s husband had proposed to her.  Despite the photo’s age, Rose looked the same as she did then.  In 50 years, she hadn’t changed, but her husband had.

His brown hair had slowly faded to grey, and the lines that appeared when he laughed became permanent.  His spirit had never faded, but his body had withered.  Rose had watched as he weakened day by day, nearing the end and wishing she could join him.  They had been supposed to grow old together, but they hadn’t.  She didn’t look a day over nineteen, and he was an old man of eighty-nine.  And then he was gone and she was fated to remain behind.

Two years had passed since he left her, and Rose knew that the time had come.  Although she dreaded the action, she had to leave their house and all the painful memories that it brought.  So, she was in the attic, sorting through old boxes of books, papers, the children’s toys, and baby pictures.

Rose set the photo aside and reached for the box it came from.  Sliding the cardboard across the dusty floor, she peered inside.  Memories from their first year together overwhelmed Rose as she looked at the contents.  Two Zeppelin tickets that had carried them from the beach in Norway to their home in London.  A pair of burgundy colored sneakers that had been replaced soon after they settled in Pete’s World.  Postcards from their travels around Earth.  An invitation to Torchwood’s Christmas party.  A letter with the address of their first apartment on the envelope.  Lots of pictures of them entangled together and smiling.  

At the bottom of the box, Rose found her blue leather jacket.  She draped it over her shoulders, remembering all the times she had put it on, hoping to find him, and the first time he had taken it off her.  Pulling it tighter around her body, Rose felt a lump in the pocket of the old, faded jacket.  She reached inside, pulling out a round, yellow button.

Rose looked at it in astonishment.  She had long assumed that Torchwood had repossessed all the dimension hoppers in existence.  She supposed it didn’t matter really, the cracks between universes had long been sealed.

Rose turned the hopper over in her hand and accidentally pressed the large button into her palm.  A series of thoughts passed through her mind in a second.  First, “I didn’t mean to do that.”  Then, “It shouldn’t matter anyway...” followed by unarticulated panic as the small yellow machine began to whir and it’s lights flashed.  And finally, a wish, the same wish she had had every time she had pressed the button before, “Please take me to the Doctor.”  

Then the small attic around her disappeared, and Rose was hurtled across the dimensions once again.  She closed her eyes tightly as the wind whipped around her, tugging at blonde hair, and threatening to pull the precious jacket off her shoulders.  Then, the roar of the wind was replaced by the sound of a busy street, and the world around her was still.  

Rose opened her eyes and blinked at the brightness.  She was kneeling on green grass instead of the wooden floorboards in her attic.  The sky was grey, but tinged with blue, and the peace of the meadow she sat in was broken only by the sounds of a buzzing city.

Rose stood up, slipping her arms into the sleeves of the jacket.  She was in another dimension again, and it only seemed fitting that she wear it.  She glanced at the hopper in her palm, before tucking it into her pocket.  She didn’t know whether to be mad at her misfortune or happy at her newfound freedom.

With no one waiting in her universe to call the hopper back, she would never see her family, or her husband’s grave, again.  All the same, she had dreaded the thought of outliving her children, and she had begun to feel trapped after living in one place, on one planet in one universe, for so long.  Once again, it was just her, traveling the multiverse, like she had always longed for.  And maybe, just maybe, she would find someone to share her adventures with.  She had found the Doctor once, and maybe she could find him again.

Rose turned to toward the sounds of the city, and set off across the grassy slopes.  She had to wait at least half an hour before she could make another jump, and she figured she might as well find out where she had been deposited this time.  

Cresting the small hill, Rose studied the busy street in front of her.  London, she was in London.  And it was a very familiar London.  Based on the number of people walking down the street holding small touch screen phones, Rose guessed she was several years in the city’s future than when she had lived here.  But still, it was familiar.  It felt like home.

Rose hurried down the other side of the hill and happily immersed herself into the lively city.  Walking along the busy pavement, she studied everything that had changed since she had last been here.  She turned her head this way and that, looking up at the grey sky and noting the lack of zeppelins, meaning she was likely to be in her prime universe.  She stared at all the little details of the city she had longed to see while stuck in the other universe.  Rose laughed to herself.  She, someone who had lived in London for the last 50 years, must look like an overwhelmed tourist!

Rose ducked into an alley next to a small chippy, a chippy that she remembered visiting with the Doctor back when she was still nineteen.  She closed her eyes, inhaling the delicious scent, and remembering that day with the Doctor.  Their first date.  They had shared a large basket of chips (that she had paid for) and had talked and laughed together, even though they had just watched the destruction of this planet.  He had held her hand a little to tight and smiled at her as they had made their way back to the Tardis that night.  She grinned, remembering the way he had danced around the console trying to impress her.

Lost in thought, she was startled to hear the wheezing of the Tardis once again.  At first, she thought it was just her memories, but then she felt the breeze on her face.  Her eyes popped open, and there it was: the Tardis.

She stepped forward as if in a trace, barely able to believe that this was real, and not some elaborate dream or a trance.  Had she hit her head when the dimension hopper landed?  She carefully reached a hand out and rested it on the blue doors of the police box.  They were solid.  This was real.  She had found her way back.

The door swung open under her gentle touch.  Rose didn’t even have to reach for the silver key that hung around her neck even after all these years.  The Tardis stood open, inviting her in; welcoming her home.  

Although the exterior of the ship still looked the same, the inside had been remodeled.  Gone were the coral pillars that the Doctor had kissed her against, and the jumpseat too had disappeared.  The Tardis looked much more like a machine than it had ever done before.  Rose loved it though, and she loved the way the Tardis hummed in her mind, a sound she had longed to hear again.  Standing in the doorway, she looked about the ship, and her gaze fell upon a woman standing at the controls with her back towards Rose.

Rose looked at the person, who surely must be another version of herself.  The woman was of the same height and stature of herself, and her hair was the same blonde, even though it was cut slightly shorter than Rose’s currently was.  But the clothing, the clothing wasn’t something Rose could ever see herself wearing.  The woman wore a long, light-colored jacket with bright colored, petrol blue pants poking out past the jacket’s hem.  A few inches of skin was visible, then blue socks sticking out of the top of brown boots.  

Before Rose could analyze the situation any further, the woman turned around.  Rose looked into her eyes, and instantly joy radiated through her body, the same joy that Rose had not felt in years.  

The woman seemed shocked too, as if she had been hit with the same jolt of electricity that coursed through Rose.  Then, her jaw dropped.  “Rose?”

Rose nodded.  The woman’s voice had answered all the questions that had been about to spill from Rose’s mouth.  Her voice... her voice was a music Rose had not heard since her husband had passed.  The way she pronounced Rose’s name, so tenderly, so filled with love, and joy, and excitement.  Only one person could ever convey such meaning with a single word.  Only one person could put all of their love into a single syllable.  

“Doctor,” Rose breathed, hoping her voice also conveyed all the love she had for the person standing opposite of her.  

“You came back,” the Doctor said, in awe of the woman she loved.

“And you regenerated,” Rose replied.

The two women beamed at each other for half a second, but their bodies could not bear to be apart any longer.  They pulled at each other, gravitated together, as they approached the center of the room.

Rose melted into the Doctor’s warm embrace.  She didn’t have to stretch up to meet the Doctor’s lips like she used too.  Their lips slotted together perfectly, almost as though this version of the Doctor had been made to be kissed by Rose.

After many moments relishing Rose’s embrace, the Doctor took a step back and attempted to casually lean against the console.  However, it was obvious that her body was tense with emotion: joy at seeing Rose again, love for her pink and yellow girl, and a small amount of fear and hesitation, since last time Rose’s return has been accompanied by the Earth’s disappearance and a war with the Daleks.

“How?” The Doctor asked softly.  “How are you here?”

Rose shrugged, scuffing her toe against the grating on the floor of the Tardis.  “I’m not really sure.  I found the dimension hopper, and the next thing I knew I was in London.”

“And him?” the Doctor questioned, unsure what to call the human version of herself.

“He died,” Rose said slowly, her eyes filling with sadness.  “He had a human life span, and, as it turns out, I don’t.  But we were together for a long time.  50 years.  And we were happy, so happy.”  Rose practically beamed, looking up from the floor and meeting the Doctor’s eyes again.

“I’m so glad you’re back, the Doctor whispered, pulling her into a hug.

“Me too,” Rose replied, drawing the Doctor in for another breathtaking kiss.

\----------------

A few hours later, Rose sat on a bench watching the sunset with the Doctor’s arm around her and a packet of chips between them.  “How?” Rose murmured, her head pillowed on the Doctor’s shoulder.  “How did I get so lucky?  Last time it took 53 jumps to find you, and this time I found you on the first try.  It shouldn’t have even worked in the first place...”  She took a deep breath, grateful for everything the universe had given her.  “What happened, Doctor?”

“Well,” the Doctor paused, inhaling deeply before she could say the words.  “Gallifrey’s back.”

Rose sat up in shock and turned to face the other woman.  “What?” she cried.  “How?  But it was... it was gone!  You destroyed it; you told me!”

The Doctor smiled gently, smoothing Rose’s hair back from her face.  “I did, yes.  Well, at least I thought I did.  We found a way to save it.  You were there; you helped.”  Rose raised an eyebrow.  “Well, Bad Wolf helped.  She brought all of me together, and we saved Gallifrey.  But it really was you, your spirit and your compassion that saved Gallifrey that day.  Your love for a suffering, grumpy old time lord saved an entire civilization.”  The Doctor paused, leaning in until her nose touched Rose’s.  “And it brought you back to me.”  The gap between their lips closed.  

Sitting back on the bench with lips tinged red from kissing, the Doctor and Rose watched the city light up as darkness fell.  Rose was quiet, thinking about everything that had transpired in the past day.  “If the return of Gallifrey made travel between dimensions possible again, then why didn’t you come to find me?” she finally asked, saying the last few words almost under her breath.  The Doctor looked at her hands, avoiding Rose’s gaze.  “Doctor,” Rose said, lifting the time lady’s chin up until their eyes met.  “I’m not mad; I just want to know.  Do you not need me anymore?”

“Of course not!” The Doctor cried in outrage.  “Rose Tyler, look me in the eyes and know this:  I will always need you and I will always love you.  Never ever doubt that.”  Rose nodded as the Doctor paused for breath.  Then, she began again softly.  “I wanted to come for you, Rose.  Oh, I wanted you so bad.  To see your smile to hold you in my arms and tell you that I loved you.  But I couldn’t.  You had the other Doctor, and I knew that you were happy together.  And I never, not even for one second, thought that death would separate the two of you.  If I had known, oh, if I had known, I would have come for you Rose, I swear.”

“I know, Doctor,” Rose breathed, “I know.”

The Doctor opened her mouth to speak again, but Rose reached forward and placed a finger on her lips.  “Please, Doctor.  You don’t have to say anymore.  I’ve never doubted your love for me and I never will.  It’s just…”  She paused.  “It’s been so long, and I needed to hear you say it.”  Rose leaned forward and replaced her finger with her lips.  The Doctor’s mouth moved against Rose’s.  

Pulling away, Rose paused to catch her breath.  The Doctor placed a hand on Rose’s chest and gently pushed her back so that she was laying on the seat of the bench.  Rose felt the Doctor settle across her lap.  Looking up, she could just make out the stars twinkling in the night sky above them, but then, the Doctor’s head appeared in Rose’s vision and blotted them out.  The Doctor shone brighter than any star Rose had ever seen, and she was filled with the knowledge that she was where she was supposed to be, and all was right in the universe.  She just didn’t know who to thank.


End file.
